Image forming apparatus for a multiplex copying system

- Ricoh Company, Ltd.

An image forming apparatus for a multiplex copying system in which indefinite peripherals having various additional functions may be connected to the body of the apparatus. The version of the apparatus body is adjusted surely and adequately in matching relation to the versions of the peripherals. The apparatus body is, therefore, capable of cooperating with the peripherals newly connected thereto.

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Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for an image forming system in which a version of a body of said apparatus is adjusted on the basis of a version of a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein said apparatus comprises a multiplex apparatus, and wherein image formation of said apparatus in a copy mode, a facsimile mode, and a printer mode is selectively controlled in matching relation to said peripheral, and further comprising a page turn-over mechanism, wherein when an order in which said peripheral discharges pages does not match an order in which said body discharges pages in the facsimile mode or the printer mode, said apparatus adjusts an order of pages by using said turnover mechanism included in said body.

2. An image forming apparatus for an image forming system in which a version of a body of said apparatus is adjusted on the basis of a version of a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein said apparatus comprises a multiplex apparatus, and wherein image formation of said apparatus in a copy mode, a facsimile mode, and a printer mode is selectively controlled in matching relation to said peripheral, and further comprising a memory for storing image data, wherein when an order in which said peripheral discharges pages does not match an order in which said body discharges pages in the facsimile mode or the printer mode, said apparatus adjusts an order of pages by once writing image data in said memory and then reversing an output order from said memory.

3. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable, comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, further comprising displaying means for indicating that said combination does not match with respect to hardware.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said adjusting means adjusts, when an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a sorter are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, a version of display software and operation control software.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein when a recycling document handler (RDH) and a finisher are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, said adjusting means adjusts a version of display software and operation control software.

6. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable, comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, when an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a sorter are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, respectively, a version of display software and operation control software, and further comprising a page turn-over mechanism, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said ADF and a paper discharge direction of said sorter will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the order of pages by causing said turnover mechanism included in said body to operate.

7. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable comprising:

a body;and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, when an automatic document feeder (ADF) sorter are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral respectively, a version of display software and operation control software, and further comprising a memory for storing image data, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said ADF and a paper discharge direction of said sorter will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the orders of pages by once writing image data in said memory and then reversing an output order from said memory.

8. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body wherein said adjusting means adjusts when an automatic document feeder and a sorter are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral respectively a version of display software and operation control software, and further comprising a page turn-over mechanism wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said ADF and a paper discharge direction of said body will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the order of pages by causing said turn-over mechanism included in said sorter to operate.

9. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable, comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein when a recycling document handler(RDH) and a finisher are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, respectively, said adjusting means adjusts a version of display software and operation control software, and further comprising a page turn-over mechanism, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said RDH and a paper discharge direction of said finisher will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the order of pages by causing said turn-over mechanism included in said body to operate.

10. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body wherein when a recycling document handler (RDH) and a finisher are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, respectively, said adjusting means adjusts a version of displayed software and operation control software, and further comprising a memory for storing image data, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said RDH and a paper discharge direction of said finisher will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the order of pages by once writing image data in said memory and then reversing an output order from said memory.

11. An image forming apparatus to which an indefinite peripheral is connectable, comprising:

a body; and
adjusting means for adjusting a version of said body on the basis of a combination of a preprocessing peripheral and a postprocessing peripheral connected to said body, wherein when a recycling document handler (RDH) and a finisher are connected to said body as said preprocessing peripheral and said postprocessing peripheral, respectively, said adjusting means adjusts a version of displayed software and operation control software, and further comprising a page turn-over mechanism, wherein said adjusting means adjusts, if a combination of a document feed order of said RDH and a paper discharge direction of said finisher will reverse an order of pages of resulting copies, the order of pages by causing said turn-over mechanism included in said finisher to operate.

12. An image forming apparatus having a body with a display which is connectable to various peripherals, said apparatus comprising:

a control portion in said body that stores version data in a first memory, said stored version data permitting said body to be compatible with various identified peripherals to perform functions added by said peripherals;
a checking portion in said body that automatically determines if any peripheral connected to said body is one of said identified peripherals or an unidentified peripheral lacking said stored version data; and
a storage adjusting portion that causes the introduction of updated version data into storage in said first memory to change the status of an unidentified peripheral to that of an identified peripheral.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, said control portion further comprising:

a retrieval controller which controls retrieval of said stored version data from said first memory, said version data including display control data; and
display controller connected to receive said display control data provided from said retrieval controller to control said display so as to provide guidance and how to obtain performance of functions being added by the connected peripheral that are lacking in the body.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the functions lacking in the body relate to stapling and the connected peripheral includes such stapling functions, the display controller controls said display so as to provide guidance relative to performing the various stapling functions available from the connected peripheral.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said display controller controls said display to provide guidance as to various stapling positions and stapling patterns that can be selected as to performing the stapling functions of the connected peripheral.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the functions lacking in the body relate to punching and the connected peripheral includes such punching functions, the display controller controls said display so as to provide guidance relative to performing the various punching functions available from the connected peripheral.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the functions lacking in the body relate to folding and the connected peripheral includes such folding functions, the display controller controls said display so as to provide guidance relative to performing the various folding functions available from the connected peripheral.

18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the functions lacking in the body relate to stamping and the connected peripheral includes such stamping functions, the display controller controls said display so as to provide guidance relative to performing the various stamping functions available from the connected peripheral.

19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the functions lacking in the body relate to providing mailbox functions and the connected peripheral includes such mail box functions, the display controller controls said display so as to provide guidance relative to performing the various mailbox functions available from the connected peripheral.

20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, said control portion further comprising:

a retrieval controller which controls retrieval of said stored version data from said first memory, said version data including body control data; and
a body controller connected to receive said body control data provided from said retrieval controller to control a portion of said body so as to be compatible with the connected peripheral in performing the functions added by said peripheral.

21. An apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein the peripheral includes structure for performing a function selected from the group consisting of stapling, punching, stamping, folding and any combination thereof.

22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

a document feeder as said portion of said body; and

23. An apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein said storage adjusting portion cooperates with said unidentified peripheral to supply said updated version data including body control data from said unidentified peripheral to said storage adjusting portion for storage in said first memory.

24. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, further comprising:

a fixing temperature adjuster as said portion of said body; and
wherein said body controller controls said fixing temperature adjuster to variably adjust the fixing temperature of said body to be compatible with the connected peripheral processing requirements.

25. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, further comprising:

a processing speed adjuster as said portion of said body; and
wherein said body controller controls said processing speed adjuster to variably adjust the processing speed of said body to be compatible with the connected peripheral processing speed requirements.

26. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, further comprising:

an image mode selector as said portion of said body; and
wherein said body controller controls said body image mode selector to select one of a copy mode, a facsimile mode, and a printer mode to be compatible with the connected peripheral processing requirements.

27. An apparatus as claimed in claim 26, further

comprising:
a turn-over mechanism in said body; and
wherein said body controller additionally controls said turn-over mechanism to adjust the order of pages when an order in which said connected peripheral discharges pages in a selected printer mode or facsimile mode does not match an order in which said body discharges pages in either one of these selected modes.

28. An apparatus as claimed in claim 26, further comprising:

a second memory for storing image data in said body; and
wherein said body controller controls said second memory to adjust the order of pages by causing the writing of image data into said second memory in a particular order and then reversing an output order of the data written into said second memory when an order in which a connected peripheral discharges pages in a selected printer mode or a facsimile mode does not match an order in which said body discharges pages in either one of these selected modes.

29. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, said control portion further comprising:

a retrieval controller which controls retrieval of said stored version data from said first memory, said version data including display control data; and
a display controller connected to receive said display control data and to operate therewith to control said display to show only function setting keys that correspond to functions selectable for performance by the apparatus which are compatible with the body and the particular peripherals that are connected thereto.

30. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, further comprising:

a function setting key manipulation detector which detects operator selection of a displayed function setting key and which then initiates the particular selected function associated therewith.

31. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, wherein said display control data and said display controller cooperate to provide a display in which predetermined portions of the display are reserved for display of selected function setting keys associated with particular types of connected peripherals and other display portions are reserved for the display of body function setting keys.

32. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, wherein the storage adjusting portion causes the introduction of said updated version data including display control data into storage into said first memory by adding new data to data already existing in said first memory.

33. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, wherein the storage adjusting portion causes the introduction of said updated version data including display control data into storage into said first memory by rewriting all of the data existing in said memory.

34. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, further comprising:

an external data management unit; and
wherein said external data management unit cooperates with said storage adjusting portion to supply said updated version data including display control data from said external data management unit to said storage adjusting portion for storage in said first memory.

35. An image forming multiplex apparatus having a main body which is connectable with various peripherals, said multiplex apparatus comprising:

a control portion in said main body that selects at least one of a copy mode, facsimile mode, and printer mode for said multiplex apparatus operations;
said control portion including an applications control circuit which controls data interchanges between said multiplex apparatus and external devices and networks in any selected mode;
a memory storing version data required for the compatible operation of the main body with connected peripheral;
said control portion further including a memory accessing segment which controls access to the version data in said memory;
a checking portion in said main body that automatically determines if any peripheral connected to said main body is an identified peripheral for which said version data has been previously stored in said memory or an unidentified peripheral for which no said version data or incomplete version data has been previously stored in said memory;
a storage adjusting portion responsive to the checking portion which causes updated version data needed for main body compatibility with a connected unidentified peripheral to be added to the stored version data in said memory by said memory accessing segment;
a retrieval controller connected to control the accessing segment to retrieve one of said version data and said updated version data from said memory based upon the nature of the peripheral connected to the main body as determined by the checking portion; and
an operations controller connected to receive said version data or said updated version data retrieved from said memory as operation control data and to use said operation control data to control said main body and said connected peripheral.

36. The multiplex apparatus of claim 35, wherein said connected peripheral is a sorter having a plurality of bins and wherein said operations controller controls said sorter to distribute received document copies into selected ones of said bins when said multiplex apparatus is in a selected facsimile mode so that said bins act as mailbox slots for the deposit of facsimile documents.

37. The multiplex apparatus of claim 35, wherein said connected peripheral is a post processing peripheral.

38. The multiplex apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

a turn-over mechanism in said main body; and
wherein said operations controller additionally controls said turn-over mechanism to adjust the order of pages when an order in which said post processing peripheral discharges pages in a selected printer mode or facsimile mode does not match an order in which said main body discharges pages in either one of the selected printer mode or the selected facsimile mode.

39. The multiplex apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

a turn-over memory in said main body; and
wherein said operations controller additionally controls said turn-over memory to adjust the order of pages by causing the writing of image data into said turn-over memory in a particular order and then reversing an output order of the image data written into the turn-over memory when an order in which said post processing peripheral discharges pages in a selected printer mode or facsimile mode does not match an order in which said body discharges pages in either of the selected printer mode or the selected facsimile mode.
Referenced Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
5159324 October 27, 1992 Ohtani et al.
Foreign Patent Documents
62-81653 April 1987 JPX
63-212953 September 1988 JPX
64-61765 March 1989 JPX
3-223902 October 1991 JPX
3-268139 November 1991 JPX
4-172528 June 1992 JPX
4-301655 October 1992 JPX
5-80602 April 1993 JPX
5-80610 April 1993 JPX
5-88433 April 1993 JPX
Patent History
Patent number: 5678135
Type: Grant
Filed: Jun 21, 1995
Date of Patent: Oct 14, 1997
Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd. (Tokyo)
Inventors: Tomonori Fukui (Tokyo), Yukio Abe (Tokyo), Makoto Hidaka (Yokohama), Yasuhiro Kishimoto (Tokyo), Manabu Komatsu (Tokyo), Yasuhiro Tabata (Kawasaki)
Primary Examiner: William J. Royer
Law Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C.
Application Number: 8/493,160
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Programmed (399/77); Menu Display (345/902); Operator Interface (e.g., Display Control Panel) (399/81); Post-processing (399/407)
International Classification: G03G 1500; G03G 2114;